


Flippers, Bumpers, and Gates

by taibhrigh



Category: The Losers, The Losers (2010)
Genre: Backstory, Friendship, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-12-13
Updated: 2010-12-13
Packaged: 2017-10-13 16:00:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,858
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/139073
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/taibhrigh/pseuds/taibhrigh
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A bar, a pinball machine, and the top score.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Flippers, Bumpers, and Gates

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks to [Siluria](http://archiveofourown.org/users/siluria) for the beta.
> 
> This story was written for smallfandomfest #8 on LJ.

There's a bar near Fort Bragg that Special Forces has seemingly claimed as their own. This doesn't mean others don't frequent it. A few drill sergeants that have been on base for a decade and some of the civilian base staff who don't go to the bars where the new recruits go. There are also locals and girls looking to take home a soldier for the night. But mostly the patrons are of the highly trained and dangerous variety looking for a break from base or using the bar to transition back to normal life before going home for a visit.

The drinks are priced right. There are none with umbrellas...usually. The bartenders only do frozen drinks for the regulars and it takes a while to become a regular. Mrs. Dells, who has been the base commander's civilian secretary for the last fifteen years, is one of a handful that can order a frozen strawberry daiquiri and no one says a word. She lost her husband in the Gulf and her daughter is currently stationed at Landstuhl as a trauma nurse. Plus, there are usually no loud arguments until after she leaves for the evening.

The bar food is good. Very good. The burgers and fries are to die for. The wings are hot. Fire-breathingly so.

There are three pool tables just past the counter. Four dart boards along one sidewall and another two on the back wall. They recently added two more flat panel televisions angled from the ceiling so that patrons can see them from anywhere in the bar.

Cougar enjoyed the food and the cold beer, be it from the bottle or tap. Appreciated the darts and pool tables. Didn't care about the televisions unless Army was playing Navy; and then, like all good soldiers in the Army, he was rooting against the Navy team.

What he treasured most about the place was the pinball machine kept in the far back corner behind the wall where the two old dart boards hung that were rarely used because they were too close to the back pool table and unless you wanted a pool stick in the back or ass while throwing a sharp pointed dart no one tended to play back there unless they were with the squad at the table.

Cougar took two dollars in quarters and his beer back to the machine. He rarely needed the second dollar because the first dollar and the two games it would allow him normally kept him busy for at least an hour. He started playing because he really didn't like off time with his old unit. He'd just continued when he joined Clay's team. It gave him time to unwind and do something almost normal.

For the longest time he held the top ten highest scores on the game. Two weeks ago another set of initials appeared in the third, fourth, and seventh slots. JAJ. He had no idea who JAJ was and the bartender wasn't telling.

~ * ~ * ~ * ~

Corporal Jake Jensen was still a newbie to Special Forces when he finally followed his current team to the bar. He knew that any day now he would be getting transfer papers and this time he was ready. His current team was a bunch of cowboys and not in a good way. Also, he was tired of finding his glasses broken. As if it was going to teach him a lesson to use the military issued ones. Those were heavy, headache causing monstrosities that didn't darken in the bright light of the desert. And since he needed his eyes to see his screens he considers that a necessity. Plus, he's hacked their bank accounts and has made each of them pay for the broken glasses plus the three extra pairs he's had made.

Jensen just grabs a beer from the bartender and wanders away from his team to explore the bar. He's engrossed with the pinball machine when his team actually gets kicked out for starting a fight while Mrs. Dells was in the bar and even he knows that's a no-no.

He spends his first game at the machine learning the controls. How far back he needs to pull the plunger, how the flippers, bumpers, slingshots, and holes will move the ball across the playfield and how the targets react. If they drop or if they can be hit again. The second game is learning more about the rollover targets, stoppers which he hates, the gates, the ramps, and multiballs. It's all a science.

And one that he's not willing to take apart and make better. This is about out scoring the other players while the flashing lights, beeping buzzers and bells, pings, and music are all in your face while your eyes track the silver ball and fingers press two little buttons on either side of the machine.

Jensen doesn't know who CCA is but he has one hell of a top score. Or had he notices as his ball rolls through one of the gates and triggers the long awaited multiball play and the screen flashes "multiball" quickly followed by "new top score" and he grins.

~ * ~ * ~ * ~

Cougar is actually amused when he returns to the bar four weeks later and discovers that he has been dethroned from the top score slot. He still has five of the highest scores, but only one in the top five. It's the first time since he started playing the machine that there's been a real challenge.

It takes both his dollars and most of his concentration to leave this JAJ in the exact same position as he'd been left. Cougar smiles as he just lets the last ball roll down the drain and he takes over the second spot leaving JAJ in third while he has the first, second, fourth and fifth highest scores.

He heads back to the bar, tilts his hat a little lower and orders another beer. From his position on the barstool that's placed at the best location for a sniper--back corner, no one behind him--he watches his new team.

Roque and Clay are playing pool and Clay might be flirting with one of the local girls. Roque definitely is. Pooch and his girlfriend are in a booth having dinner but will leave any minute now for a movie and Pooch won't return to base until their leave is either over or they get called back.

Cougar waves down one of the bartenders and order wings, fries, and another beer and settles in to watch the other patrons. Watching closely to see if anyone goes to the back and the pinball machine.

~ * ~ * ~ * ~

Jensen takes his bright pink frozen drink with him to the pinball machine. His current teammates are looking at him strangely because he was able to get the bartender to actually make him one. He's not telling them that he fixed the cable issue the bar was having two weeks ago or that Mrs. Dells had bought him the first one a month back for hand delivering a letter from her daughter.

He sits his drink on the barstool that's next to the machine and waits for the scores to cycle back to the top positions. He quickly reads down the score list for the top ten positions even though the top twenty now belong to both him and CCA.

Jensen laughs and he's glad he brought a couple of extra quarters with him. CCA has left him a challenge. CCA is currently in all the odd positions and he's in all the even.

He rubs his hands together and puts in the first two quarters. This is going to be fun.

~ * ~ * ~ * ~

Cougar comes into the bar after The Losers have now lost their seventeenth trial team member. This one nearly went screaming into an enemy camp just get away from them. He's not sure what spooked this one, but it's the first time he's had to shoot one of his own team members, and in the ass no less.

He and JAJ have been playing pinball against each other for nearly six months now and he wonders what the guy thinks of the two-three-two-three pattern he left him to match.

Cougar orders his beer but before he can get very far the bartender hands him a small envelope. Inside is a short letter and two quarters. _CCA- There was a fight. The idiots tried to push the machine over and it reset :( First game of our new match is on me. JAJ_

Cougar nodded, pocketed the note and took the two quarters and his beer back to the machine. He could see scrape marks on the floor from where the machine had been pushed and there were a few dings to the side of the machine itself. He patted the machine and gave it a soft apology before seeing that none of the high scores were from JAJ or even high enough to be in their league.

~ * ~ * ~ * ~

Jensen was being loaned out again. He was meeting his new temporary team in a couple of hours and they were set to go out in less than forty-eight hours. He wanted one quick look to see if CCA had left him a new challenge yet.

The challenge two weeks before had been tricky. He was hoping this match would last a little longer than their second. He'd been a little bummed to return home two months ago to find out the bar had lost power during a storm and the machine had been reset again. He'd been bouncingly happy to get a note and two quarters from CCA telling him to start this match.

It looked like his opponent had only had time for one quick game that moved him back into first. Jensen knew he could at least return the favor.

~ * ~ * ~ * ~

The four high scores on the machine sat untouched for two weeks.

Then the Losers entered the bar and Cougar caught the quick glance that the bartender shot both him and Jensen. Jensen who's first name was Jake and probably the only man besides Pooch that he knew who would use a frowny or smiley face in a note and Pooch only did that with Jolene.

Jensen was sitting down at the bar on the stool next to where he normally sat and was ordering food. Cougar smirked to himself and joined the other man.

When the wings and fries and the first beer was finished Cougar pushed two quarters across to Jensen and asked, "New match?"

Jensen stared at the two quarters for a second, as if his brain was processing and after spending nearly two weeks with the tech it was probably an apt description.

"Yeah. Sure. This will be different. What with you sitting on the stool staring at me like I'm a target through your scope or something."

Cougar shook his head slightly and followed Jensen to the back and to their pinball machine. But he had to give Jensen credit; it was a lot different with them watching each other play. Jensen with his noise and Cougar with his quiet observation.

It was better than before.


End file.
